Police report that a elderly man who was struck by an SUV on Grand Street earlier this month has died from his injuries.
According to the Daily News, the 87-year-old man, who has not been named by police, died at Bellevue Hospital March 25. The man was hit by a cab driver in a 2014 Nissan Suburban at about 6:40 p.m. March 7.
The day after the accident, cops told us the victim was jaywalking — crossing in the middle of the block between East Broadway and Columbia Street. The driver stayed at the scene and was not charged with any crime.
Shortly after the Grand Street accident, Streetsblog made the case that city officials are all-too-willing to blame seniors for accidents instead of making neighborhoods safer for pedestrians:
Streets designed to slow motor vehicle traffic and consistent enforcement of the most dangerous moving violations are key to a safe walking environment. Yet NYPD and the press routinely point fingers at seniors who are injured and killed by motorists. “We don’t believe victim-blaming is acceptable for any age group,” said (Transportation Alternatives Policy and Research Manager Julia) Kite, “but we see a lot of it for seniors in particular — as if getting older, losing a degree of mobility, or having a slower reaction time somehow makes a pedestrian at fault for the actions of a reckless driver.”
You can read the whole article here.
